Why Isn't My Hair Growing?

Why Isn’t My Hair Growing?


Why isn’t my hair growing? It’s a common question. Waiting for your natural hair to grow can feel like an eternity. Impatience is a relative emotion you can expect to experience when looking for signs that your hair is finally growing at a healthy rate of inches vs. mere millimeters.

Unfortunately, there comes the point when you recognize there may be a problem with the growth rate of your hair. Despite your best efforts to establish a consistent hair care regimen that aligns with your hair porosity, texture, and type, it becomes clear that progress has hit a brick wall.   

Why Isn’t My Hair Growing Fast?

 

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While others may appear to be sprouting hair like lawns sprout weeds during the spring, in reality, hair does not grow that fast. Hair grows roughly at the rate of half an inch each month. However, keep in mind that it is plausible that your hair may not grow anywhere near this rate. You see, multiple factors may contribute to your hair growing slow.  

Genetics

Yes, our genetics can play a vital row in the rate at which our hair grows. Consider this, some forms of hair loss and baldness are hereditary. It only makes sense that the rate at which our hair grows may have something to do with our parents and grandparents.  

Nutrition and Hair Growth

For hair growth to occur, we must consume a healthy mix of vital nutrients that our body can transport to the scalp region to stimulate our hair follicles. Eating foods rich in iron, omega-3 fatty acids, biotin, zinc, and vitamins A, B, C, and D are crucial for producing healthy hair. 

Poor protein intake can also harm the quality of hair growth. Inadequate protein intake often occurs with crash dieting or purposeful exclusion of protein from the diet. Hair loss resulting from a poor diet does not make itself known immediately. Rather. It may not appear for two or more months.

Hormones

Hormones affect the rate at which your hair grows. Pregnancy and menopause are examples of periods in a woman’s life where hormones can negatively affect hair. Research shows that high estrogen levels, progesterone, prolactin, and growth factors can all increase hair growth in diameter and in the anagen, telogen ratio during pregnancy. During menopause, estrogen depletion can contribute to female pattern hair loss. 

Stress

Stress levels can also affect the rate at which your hair grows. Too much stress can cause your hair to shift into a “resting” phase. During the resting phase, your hair follicles will not produce any new hair strands. Over time, you will start to notice thinning hair and temporary hair loss. 

Breakage and Slow Hair Growth 

Is your hair damaged? Damaged hair is generally the result of a core set of choices, including but not limited to heat, hair care product choices, and hair care practices. Breakage typically takes place along the hair shaft and ends vs. the scalp. Nonetheless, when it does occur, if left untreated, it can lead to thinning hair. Breakage leads to a loss in length and density, making it appear that your hair is not growing at an acceptable rate. 

If you are dealing with breakage, you can take a few actions to repair the damage. 

Improve Your Diet

Start with the foods you eat and the beverages you drink. Increase your water intake to help boost your intake of necessary minerals like zinc, copper, iron, and calcium. Each of these minerals plays a critical role in scalp health and follicle stimulation. Increase your intake of fruits and vegetables to ensure you give your body access to powerful antioxidants that can help fight free radicals and protect the structure of your hair. 

Keep Your Hair And Scalp Clean

Your hair and scalp need a healthy base to produce positive results. Dirt and bacteria can clog your pores, increasing the risk for scalp irritation, inflammation, and infections. Each of these things can affect your hair growth cycle, causing thinning hair or even hair loss.  Keep your scalp clean to reduce the risk of disruption to your hair growth cycle. 

Know Your Hair Porosity

Knowing your hair porosity may help you choose the best hair care products to support healthy hair growth. If you have low hair porosity, you may need to adopt a moisture-rich hair care regimen. High porosity hair will likely require you to incorporate protein-rich hair care products into your hair care routine. 

Manage Your Stress

If stress is slowing the rate at which your hair grows, you will need to confront the cause of your stress head-on. Studies show that once you reduce the stress in your life, your temporary hair loss will reverse in time. 

As you can see, there are multiple thoughts for why your hair may not be growing. Breakage may be at the heart of your issue, or you may have one or more factors contributing to your slow hair growth. There are a few interventions you can deploy to improve the rate at which your hair grows. Choosing high-quality hair products and adjusting your hair care practices just may be the answer to boosting your hair growth rate. 

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